Wednesday Wins! Coach John!
WEDNESDAY WINS! COACH JOHN!
Every now and then, someone walks into your life that just makes it better. Coach John just celebrated his one year anniversary at the Cove and we feel so lucky that he picked us. Everything is just better with him here.
Unlike our regular Wednesday Wins features when we focus on the athlete’s story, today we get to celebrate John from our personal perspectives. That is, fellow coaches and athletes alike shouting from the rooftops about why he’s just so darn #amazeballs.
As box owners, we look at our coaches through a very specific, yet very simple lens. Sure, they need credentials and need to move well, but when we evaluate what makes a great coach we look for three things: Hungry. Humble. Happy.
We’d argue if you looked up those three words in the dictionary, you’d see his face. Or maybe this one…
Let’s talk about hungry first. He coaches a ton of hours. He holds a full time job so that he can make enough to move closer to the gym (yes, he likes you that much!) and is among the first to raise his hand if anyone needs help. That means anything from filling coaching hours when a conflict arises to staying after class to help with kipping. He launched our Barbell Club (and created the secret handshake), ran the Men’s Fresh Start Challenge and built the personal coaching model we now have at the Cove. And if you want to talk about literal hunger, no one can meal prep like this guy. We’ve seen more Tupperware photos in the last year from him than all of us combined in our full two years.
Humble is an understatement. He comes in, does the work and kills it every time. Many of us don’t get to see him workout regularly, so thankfully he offered to Facebook Live his Open Workouts. He’s a beautiful mover, strong as s#*t and is the first to circle the room for fist bumps in the sweaty aftermath. He’s the ‘rabbit’ for many scoring-wise, but he is the muse for sound and virtuous movement for all of us!
“Hey John….’Why so serious!?!?’” as some members like to say. But underneath that sometimes laser-focused face is someone who just makes this place FUN.
Even walking in the door becomes an event when John is there. He’ll yell your name out across the room like you’re a celebrity showing up at an event. Angie noted “He makes you feel special just for showing up”. And as Brittany M said, “No one will be more excited to see you come back after some time off than John. He’s not afraid to tell you that you can do better and he can make you believe in yourself again.”
Melissa added, “Coach John is hands-down one of my favorite coaches. From his little words of encouragement to his fist bump at the end of class, he is there for you 100%. He takes CrossFit seriously, but not himself and always has a smile, wave, hug, or hello for anyone who walks in the box.”
We couldn’t have said it better. “He takes CrossFit seriously, but not himself seriously.” That, in a nutshell, is the also culture of the Cove.
We’ve heard lots of stories about John but this anecdote from Simone pretty much sums him up. “I remember the first time I met John. This was before I even knew he would be coaching at the Cove. It was in the middle of a workout and I was sucking badly! He had already finished and said to me (in a completely serious tone), if you finish in under 25 minutes, I’ll do my hair like you. Of course I finished… but I’m still waiting for him to change his hair! The point is, John has a way of saying one thing to motivate and push you beyond what you think you can do. But he also does it with great sense of humor which helps me to enjoy every class with him.”
Robyn Z copped to some of the athletes turning the tables on him. “And now it’s kinda fun to mess with him a bit I don’t know when it started but it’s hilarious when people are like “what did you say? What was the number of reps again?” It’s funny to watch him try to keep his cool”.
John’s impact, however, seeps outside the box in meaningful ways too. Just one of many he’s helped, Jessica adds “Most people know by now that I stopped drinking alcohol back in January, and he was such a source of support at that time, checking in and making sure I didn’t feel alone. It really brought us from coach-athlete to friends. Knowing that I had someone who looked out for me and wanted me to succeed both in the gym and outside of it was really helpful. I’m really grateful for him.”
And the love fest rolls deep through the coaches. Maria said it best with “I adore John… he is unapologetically himself; he’s a weirdo, and he fits right in with the rest of us! His love for fitness, his dogs, chicken wings, ‘Mommy Mondays’ and social media is pure.”
Yep, everything about this weirdo guy is pure. John, from the bottom of our hearts, we want to say thanks for an amazing year and we look forward to many more to come!
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STRENGTH WOD
Split Jerk 3/3/2/2/2
(build up in load)
WOD
15/12 Cals
10 Push Jerks
Rest 60 Seconds
5 Rounds
Fitness: DB Push Press
Performance: 135/95
Open: 155/105
Coach’s Tip: This is a classic “push-pull” workout today. The rest is in there to give you recovery time, but also so you can go all out during the ‘work time’. You should be a minute or less on the row and go directly into the push jerks. They do not need to be unbroken but should be done in sets of 5 at least.
